Ryan Murphy has created and produced some of the most popular television series. He just has an eye for what viewers prefer to watch with his credits including Glee, American Horror Story, Pose, 9-1-1, and The Watcher. Murphy is not slowing down, either. In 2024, ABC’s Doctor Odyssey was added to the writer’s list of productions. While doctors aboard a luxury cruise caught the attention, it seems not to have had the level of interest to convince ABC to renew it.
Who wouldn’t want to tune in to watch highly skilled doctors on a luxury cruise handling medical cases far away from the nearest shore? Within its 18 episodes, there was no shortage of drama and cases for Dr. Max Bankman (Joshua Jackson) and his team. However, there seemed to be a shortage in ABC’s interest to renew the series, as the network decided to cancel it instead. According to Variety, fans of Doctor Odyssey have to say goodbye to the series and their favorite characters after just one season. The publication also revealed that since April 2025, Murphy’s scripted series has been the only one on the network that didn’t get news of a cancellation or renewal.
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Perhaps ABC was waiting for the season finale to air on May 15, 2025 before they made a decision. It’s been a little over a month later, and now they’ve made up their minds. Variety confirmed that the contracts for the cast expire on Monday, June 30, and the network hasn’t made any effort to add the series back to its schedule. Doctor Odyssey had a solid and steady viewership, consistently drawing in more than 2.49 million U.S. viewers per episode; however, that apparently wasn’t enough to continue the show.
Joshua Jackson’s character, Dr. Max Bankman, was the newly hired doctor on the cruise, Phillipa Soo played Nurse Avery Morgan, Sean Teale brought Nurse Tristan Silva to life (who also had heart eyes for Avery), and veteran actor Don Johnson was Captain Robert Massey. Some of the recurring cast and characters include Jacqueline Toboni as Rosie (the ship’s engineer), Marcus Emanuel Mitchell as Spencer Monroe, Rick Cosnett as Corey, and Laura Harrier as Vivian. In iconic Love Boat style, the series had notable guest appearances from stars who showed up for one-off parts, including Shania Twain, John Stamos, Angela Bassett, and more.
The Classic Series That Inspired Ryan Murphy’s ‘Doctor Odyssey’
Wilford Lloyd Baumes’s classic 1977 series, The Love Boat, became the standard for television romantic comedies that weren’t set on shore. For nine seasons (with various specials and pilots), viewers got to see some of the most lavish and classic guest stars appear on the cruise with the perfect cast. Gavin MacLeod was Captain Merrill Stubing, Bernie Kopell was Doctor Adam “Doc” Bricker, Fred Grandy was Burl “Gopher” Smith, Ted Lange was Bartender Isaac Washington, Lauren Tewes was the Cruise Director Julie McCoy, and Jill Whelan played Vicki Stubing, the captain’s daughter. Ryan Murphy told Deadline in 2024 that The Love Boat was one of his favorite series to watch as a child and referred to Doctor Odyssey as a throwback to the series.
Source: Variety
- Release Date
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September 26, 2024
- Network
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ABC
- Directors
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Maggie Kiley, Crystle Roberson, Jennifer Lynch, Michael Medico, Millicent Shelton, Tessa Blake, Bradley Buecker, Steven Canals, Our Lady J
- Writers
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Liz Friedman, Russel Friend
